Caffeine has been used as a stimulant and anti-sleep aid for centuries. While the most common source of caffeine is coffee, it is also found in other natural plant sources, such as tea, cola nuts also spelled as kola nuts, yerba mate, guaranga berries, guayusa and the yaupon holly. Chemically, caffeine is 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine with systematic IUPAC name 1,3,7-trimethyl-1H-purine-2,6(3H,7H)-dione. Drinking coffee has long been recognized as a stimulant and therefore a way to increase playfulness and alertness. Many people drink coffee for its caffeine content to become fully awake and alert in the morning. In many workplaces, coffee is provided throughout the day so that people can operate at peak alertness and efficiency. Students also appreciate the benefits of coffee to help them study long into the night.
Currently caffeine is available as an “over the counter” drug in the form of capsules and tablets. However caffeine has a bitter taste and/or an unpalatable taste, making caffeine a difficult additive to capsules and tablets. Capsules and tablets have been precluded from the popularity of caffeine ingestion by the extremely bitter and unpalatable taste of caffeine.